If your boss yells at you, do you speak up and say, “Please stop!”? Or if you’re asked to stay late or get blamed for something you know isn’t your fault, do you just take it? Not speaking up for yourself probably makes you feel resentful.
When you give up your self-respect to keep your job, when you go along with things even though you don’t agree with them, you’re creating a lack of trust that leads to conflict and a dread about going into work each day.
As a fundraiser, you can’t sell belief in the mission if you resent the people who symbolize the cause itself. Do you see yourself here?
We all seek acceptance and approval—to be a part of a group.
Think about the following:
What if you were able to have a healthy relationship with others at work? How would your life be enhanced?
Would you like to be able to feel free to speak your mind without fear of being fired?
What if you were able to work in a nonprofit environment where leaving at 5:00 was the norm and not the exception?
What if you were able to take an hour off at lunch time?
What if you got a raise when your nonprofit increases its profits?
The truth is you won’t get any of these things unless you come together as a fundraising community and bargain for them.
None of the above will happen until the fundraising profession as a whole (and that means individual fundraisers such as yourself) come together as a group to stand up for themselves.
Have you ever fought this fight? What were the results?